"Sociology Looks at the Arts comes at exactly the right moment in the historical relationship of the arts and the social sciences. From the very outset, with the personal narrative of her exploration of the musical worlds opened to her by the magic of a great musician – Miles Davis – she reveals her position that the aesthetic experience should be taken as seriously as the socio-economic-political context that enables it. From that point on, Rothenberg draws the reader inexorably into her understanding of the complexity of that relationship, the changing nature of the both the contexts and the art forms in which they emerge, and their meanings for human beings. She succeeds in giving due attention to the changing character of globalization, commercialization, and the revolutions - political, economic, cultural – that nudge social meanings of what constitutes ART from one function to another over time."
-Vera L. Zolberg, Sociology, New School for Social Research, and author of Constructing a Sociology of the Arts
"Sociology Looks at the Arts is a masterful invitation to the sociology of art. Written in an accessible and engaging style, enlivened by timely and relevant examples, this book presents an original synthesis of diverse approaches to the social analysis of art and culture. Rothenberg has provided an exciting addition to the too sparse introductory literature in this field. Her book will be an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to teach and learn about the relationship between social structure, aesthetic experience and works of art."
-Alain Quemin, Sociology, University Paris-8, France, Past President of Research Committee # 37, Sociology of the Arts, of the International Sociological Association
"Rothenberg looks at the worlds of the arts through a variety of sociology's sharpest lenses, accompanied by a wealth of delightful images and quotes that make this book a pleasure to read and teach."
-James M. Jasper, Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, Author of The Art of Moral Protest
"Stepping into the divide between social science and artistic creation, Julia Rothenberg's book provides not only a superbly researched introduction to the way social scientists investigate culture, but her nuanced reading of contemporary art clarifies ongoing debates about political agency and activist aesthetics. Sociology Looks at the Arts will swiftly become an essential textbook for anyone teaching on art as a form of social production."
-Gregory Sholette, Studio Art and Graphic Design, CUNY Queens College, and Author of Dark Matter: Art and Politics in the Age of Enterprise Culture
"Rothenberg’s book is an indispensable compendium for any student of the exciting field of ‘sociology of the arts’. This does not only include those undergraduates and graduates who want to become familiar with a new field; it also addresses the scholar who wishes to review her position as either an ‘internalist’, emphasising the effects of one art on others or on society as a whole, or as an ‘externalist’ – Rothenberg puts herself in that position although this is my expression – emphasising the arts as reflection and outcome of society and its tension and processes."
- Volker Kirchberg, Department of Cultural Studies, Institute of Sociology and Cultural Organization
